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In First London-Shanghai Listing, Huatai to Raise $2 Billion

China's Huatai Plans to Raise $2 Billion Through London Listing

(Bloomberg) -- Huatai Securities Co., one of China’s biggest brokerages, plans to raise as much as $2 billion on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the first company to use a new program linking the Shanghai and U.K. bourses after months of delays.

The brokerage plans to sell as many as 82.5 million global depositary receipts in a range between $20 and $24.50, Huatai told the London Stock Exchange Tuesday. The offer will close on June 14, with trading scheduled to start about June 20.

The LSE “is pleased to confirm that all requirements are in place to launch Shanghai-London Stock Connect,” the British bourse said separately in a market notice Wednesday. The Shanghai Stock Exchange had said Huatai would be the first issuer to use that program’s cross-listing rules.

Stock Connect had been studied since 2015 and offers a new source of potential listings and an Asian bridgehead for the LSE ahead of Brexit. For China, the move is part of a broader effort to integrate its markets with global finance and internationalize its currency.

Read More: In January, LSE Said to Lobby China to Start Delayed Stock Link

At the start of this year, people familiar with the negotiations said the LSE had redoubled its efforts to get Stock Connect approved, with a senior executive travelling to China to meet government officials after a December target launch date came and went with no official comment.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange said it expects more Chinese firms to make use of the program, and would welcome London-listed firms that want to go public in China. HSBC Holdings Plc has previously said it was considering taking part in the program to issue shares in Shanghai.

It’s “the latest milestone in our partnership with China and will bring together our two capital markets for the benefit of issuers and investors alike," the LSE said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd., Morgan Stanley, HSBC Holdings Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG are advising Huatai Securities.

Huatai says it doubled its wealth-management customers to almost 13 million from 2012 through last year, and wants to create “a truly global business.” It intends to use some of the proceeds from the London offering to expand outside China.

--With assistance from Benjamin Robertson.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Lucille Liu in Beijing at xliu621@bloomberg.net;Viren Vaghela in London at vvaghela1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Mamudi at smamudi@bloomberg.net, Jeanette Rodrigues

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg